No Plant Death?

In their zeal to defend the young earth doctrine
of no death before the fall of Adam and Eve, Answers in Genesis now
claims that plants aren't alive nor do they die. Is this really what the Bible
says?

Rich Deem

Introduction

Recently, I went to a lecture by Terry Mortenson of Answers in Genesis
(AIG). His talk was to cover the evidence for the young earth interpretation
of creation. Much of the talk was devoted to the young earth doctrine of no
death before the fall of Adam and Eve. A complete discussion of why this
doctrine is not biblically sound can be found on the page No Death Before the Fall - A Young Earth Problem. The thing I
found astounding in the talk was Mortenson's claim that "plants aren't alive"
and "plants don't die in a biblical sense."1 Did the writers of the Bible
really believe and claim that plants weren't alive?

No death before the fall?

AIG says that the doctrine that there was no death prior to the fall of Adam
and Eve is foundational to Christianity. The claim is that God's creation could
not be called "good" if death (even animal death) were a part of it. The claim comes from
Romans 5:12:

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death
through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned— (Romans
5:12)

The verse nowhere talks about animal or plant death, which Mortenson readily
admitted. However, he claimed that the rest of the Bible clearly suggested that
the verse also applied to animal death. The problem is that such a claim would
require equating the death of all creatures with sin. Animals are incapable of understanding the
concept of sin. Neither can they understand the concepts of atonement and
redemption. Romans 5:12 is clearly referring to human sin and human
death. The Bible is clear that sin brought human death, since God told Adam that
disobeying His instruction about eating from the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil would result in his death:

but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil
you shall not eat, for in the day [yôm] that you eat from it you
will surely die." (Genesis 2:17)

It is interesting to note that the day [yôm] in which Adam died
was over 900 years long,2 further suggesting
that Genesis days were not 24 hours, but long
periods of time.

Is all death evil?

The young earth
claim that all death is evil is not found in the Bible. In fact, the Bible
says that God provides food for the carnivores (animals that eat
other animals):

"Who prepares for the raven its nourishment, When its young cry to
God, And wander about without food?" (Job 38:41)

"Can you hunt the prey for the lion, Or satisfy the appetite of the young
lions, [God speaking] (Job 38:39)

The young lions roar after their prey, And seek their food from God. (Psalm
104:21)

There is the sea, great and broad, In which are swarms without number, Animals
both small and great... They all wait for Thee, To give them their food in due
season. (Psalm 104:25, 27)

Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn;
yet God feeds them. (Luke 12:24)

Obviously, if killing animals were evil, then God would be guilty of sin,
something that the Bible vehemently denies.3
In fact, the verses from Job 38 were spoken directly by God to Job.
Since God had no problem with animal death, then it is clear He thinks it to
be part of His good creation.

Even human death is not always evil, since it ushers a believer into the
presence of God:

Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His godly ones. (Psalms
116:15)

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear
no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
(Psalms 23:4)

But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to
depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain
on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. (Philippians
1:23-24)

Plants are alive!

Young earth creationists tend to look at English translations of Genesis 1
that describe some of God's creations as
"living creatures." The word translated "living" is the Hebrew
word chay, which has a primary meaning of "living" or "alive."4 However,
the word is also used in association with water (e.g., "living water"), in which
it refers to water that is not stagnant, but moving. Young earth creationists
assume that since the term is not applied to plants in Genesis 1 that they must
not be living. However, the term chay can apply to vegetation, in which it is usually
translated as "green,"4 referring to living
plants, as opposed to brown or dead plants. So, the term chaycan refer
to living plants.

Plants don't die?

Some young earth creationists claim that plants don't die, but just
"wither" or "fade."5
However, the Bible does actually say that plants die. For example, Ezekiel
31:2-18 compares Pharaoh king of Egypt to the cedars of Lebanon, including,
in part, "No other trees so well-watered are ever to reach such a height;
they are all destined for death..."6
Deuteronomy 20:19 says that trees can be destroyed7
and Isaiah 15:6 says that the grass "died out":

For the waters of Nimrim are desolate. Surely the grass is withered, the
tender grass died out [kâlâh], There is no green thing. (Isaiah 15:6)

The Hebrew word kâlâh translated "died out" has the
meaning of "put to an end" and even "to destroy, exterminate,"8
and is often used to describe the death and destruction of human beings,
including judgment by God.9

In addition, the Bible specifically compares the deaths of humans to
those of plants:

'Therefore their inhabitants were short of strength, They were
dismayed and put to shame; They were as the vegetation of the field and
as the green herb, As grass on the housetops is scorched before it is
grown up. (2 Kings 19:26)

Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh? Can reeds thrive
without water? While still growing and uncut, they wither more quickly
than grass. Such is the destiny of all who forget God; so perishes the
hope of the godless. (Job 8:11-13)

"At least there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will
sprout again, and its new shoots will not fail. Its roots may grow old
in the ground and its stump die in the soil, yet at the scent of water
it will bud and put forth shoots like a plant. But man dies and is laid
low; he breathes his last and is no more. (Job 14:7-10)

A Psalm of David. Do not fret because of evildoers, Be not envious
toward wrongdoers. For they will wither quickly like the grass And fade
like the green herb. (Psalms 37:1-2)

My days are like a lengthened shadow, And I wither away like grass.
(Psalms 102:11)

As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he
flourishes. When the wind has passed over it, it is no more, And its
place acknowledges it no longer. (Psalms 103:15-16)

May all who hate Zion Be put to shame and turned backward; Let them
be like grass upon the housetops, Which withers before it grows up;
(Psalms 129:5-6)

Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine And valiant men in
mixing strong drink, Who justify the wicked for a bribe, And take away
the rights of the ones who are in the right! Therefore, as a tongue of
fire consumes stubble And dry grass collapses into the flame, So their
root will become like rot and their blossom blow away as dust; For they
have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts And despised the word of the
Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 5:22-24)

"Therefore their inhabitants were short of strength, They were
dismayed and put to shame; They were as the vegetation of the field and
as the green herb, As grass on the housetops is scorched before it is
grown up. (Isaiah 37:27)

A voice says, "Call out." Then he answered, "What shall I call out?"
All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the
field. The grass withers, the flower fades, When the breath of the LORD
blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the
flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever. (Isaiah 40:6-8)

'In that the king saw an angelic watcher, a holy one, descending
from heaven and saying, "Chop down the tree and destroy it; yet leave
the stump with its roots in the ground, but with a band of iron and
bronze around it in the new grass of the field, and let him be drenched
with the dew of heaven, and let him share with the beasts of the field
until seven periods of time pass over him," (Daniel 4:23)

"When you besiege a city a long time, to make war against it in
order to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by swinging an axe
against them; for you may eat from them, and you shall not cut them
down. For is the tree of the field a man, that it should be besieged by
you? "Only the trees which you know are not fruit trees you shall
destroy and cut down, that you may construct siegeworks against the city
that is making war with you until it falls. (Deuteronomy 20:19-20)

But I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter; And I did not
know that they had devised plots against me, saying, "Let us destroy the
tree with its fruit, And let us cut him off from the land of the living,
That his name be remembered no more." (Jeremiah 11:19)

"The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every
tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
(Matthew 3:10)

"Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown
into the fire. (Matthew 7:19)

"Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so every
tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the
fire." (Luke 3:9)

I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground
and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces
many seeds. (John 12:24)

and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like
flowering grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with a scorching
wind and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of
its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his
pursuits will fade away. (James 1:10-11)

For, "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the
flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, (1 Peter
1:24)

Therefore, the idea that the Bible claims
plants don't die is not at all supported.

Conclusion

The young earth creationist claim that plants aren't alive according to the
Bible is shown to be false. The only reason why young earth organizations feel a
need to defend such a preposterous doctrine is because of their paradigm of no
death at all before the fall of Adam and Eve. AIG and ICR fall into the same
trap as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), who also must claim
that plants aren't alive,10 in order to maintain
their dogma of not eating living things. However, scientifically and biblically,
plants are alive and they do die. Plants did die before the fall of Adam and Eve
and continue to die to this day. Plant and animal death is non-spiritual and is
not a result of Adam and Eve's sin. As God told Adam in Genesis 2:17, his
sin would result in his death, which he passed on to all human beings,
since all have sinned (Romans 5:12).

For more information see the book
Peril in Paradise: Theology, Science, and the Age of the Earth
by Mark S. Whorton, Ph.D., a scientist from the NASA Marshall Space Flight
Center. Dr. Whorton's book goes beyond the superficial doctrines
espoused by the young earth "perfect paradise" paradigm to examine underlying assumptions and extra-biblical teachings
of the movement. Peril in Paradise
examines verses cited as support for the perfect paradise paradigm in
context to determine their actual meaning. In addition, the book compares
the perfect paradise paradigm to the perfect purpose paradigm proposed by
old earth creationists. Since the book sticks to the scriptures almost
exclusively, it cannot be claimed that old earth creationists ignore the
scriptures in preference to "fallible science."

References

So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and
thirty years, and he died. (Genesis 5:5)

"Since the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp to
deliver you and to defeat your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy; and
He must not see anything indecent among you lest He turn away from you." (Deuteronomy
23:14)
And the men of Beth-shemesh said, "Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy
God? And to whom shall He go up from us?" (1 Samuel 6:20)
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become
the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages
ago, (Titus 1:2)
This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is
Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5)
You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no
sin. (1 John 3:5)

While still growing and uncut, they wither more quickly than grass.
(Job 8:12)

He will not escape the darkness; a flame will wither his shoots, and
the breath of God's mouth will carry him away. (Job 15:30)

His roots dry up below and his branches wither above. (Job 18:16)

He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its
fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does
prospers. (Psalms 1:3)

for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they
will soon die away. (Psalms 37:2)

My days are like the evening shadow; I wither away like grass.
(Psalms 102:11)

The fields of Heshbon wither, the vines of Sibmah also. The rulers
of the nations have trampled down the choicest vines, which once reached
Jazer and spread toward the desert. Their shoots spread out and went as
far as the sea. (Isaiah 16:8)

The canals will stink; the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up.
The reeds and rushes will wither, (Isaiah 19:6)

No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do
they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and
a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff. (Isaiah 40:24)

"'I will take away their harvest, declares the LORD. There will be
no grapes on the vine. There will be no figs on the tree, and their
leaves will wither. What I have given them will be taken from them.'"
(Jeremiah 8:13)

"Say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Will it thrive?
Will it not be uprooted and stripped of its fruit so that it withers?
All its new growth will wither. It will not take a strong arm or many
people to pull it up by the roots. (Ezekiel 17:9)

Even if it is transplanted, will it thrive? Will it not wither
completely when the east wind strikes it--wither away in the plot where
it grew?'" (Ezekiel 17:10)

Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their
leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will
bear, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit
will serve for food and their leaves for healing." (Ezekiel 47:12)

He rebukes the sea and dries it up; he makes all the rivers run dry.
Bashan and Carmel wither and the blossoms of Lebanon fade. (Nahum 1:4)

When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. "How did the fig tree
wither so quickly?" they asked. (Matthew 21:20)

For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its
blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man
will fade away even while he goes about his business. (James 1:11)

"Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his hordes: "'Who can be
compared with you in majesty? Consider Assyria, once a cedar in Lebanon,
with beautiful branches overshadowing the forest; it towered on high, its
top above the thick foliage. The waters nourished it, deep springs made it
grow tall; their streams flowed all around its base and sent their channels
to all the trees of the field. So it towered higher than all the trees of
the field; its boughs increased and its branches grew long, spreading
because of abundant waters. All the birds of the air nested in its boughs,
all the beasts of the field gave birth under its branches; all the great
nations lived in its shade. It was majestic in beauty, with its spreading
boughs, for its roots went down to abundant waters. The cedars in the garden
of God could not rival it, nor could the pine trees equal its boughs, nor
could the plane trees compare with its branches-- no tree in the garden of
God could match its beauty. I made it beautiful with abundant branches, the
envy of all the trees of Eden in the garden of God. "'Therefore this is what
the Sovereign LORD says: Because it towered on high, lifting its top above
the thick foliage, and because it was proud of its height, I handed it over
to the ruler of the nations, for him to deal with according to its
wickedness. I cast it aside, and the most ruthless of foreign nations cut it
down and left it. Its boughs fell on the mountains and in all the valleys;
its branches lay broken in all the ravines of the land. All the nations of
the earth came out from under its shade and left it. All the birds of the
air settled on the fallen tree, and all the beasts of the field were among
its branches. Therefore no other trees by the waters are ever to tower
proudly on high, lifting their tops above the thick foliage. No other trees
so well-watered are ever to reach such a height; they are all destined for
death, for the earth below, among mortal men, with those who go down to the
pit. "'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: On the day it was brought down
to the grave I covered the deep springs with mourning for it; I held back
its streams, and its abundant waters were restrained. Because of it I
clothed Lebanon with gloom, and all the trees of the field withered away. I
made the nations tremble at the sound of its fall when I brought it down to
the grave with those who go down to the pit. Then all the trees of Eden, the
choicest and best of Lebanon, all the trees that were well-watered, were
consoled in the earth below. Those who lived in its shade, its allies among
the nations, had also gone down to the grave with it, joining those killed
by the sword. "'Which of the trees of Eden can be compared with you in
splendor and majesty? Yet you, too, will be brought down with the trees of
Eden to the earth below; you will lie among the uncircumcised, with those
killed by the sword. "'This is Pharaoh and all his hordes, declares the
Sovereign LORD.'" (Ezekiel 31:2-18)

When you lay siege to a city for a long time, fighting
against it to capture it, do not destroy its trees by putting an ax to them,
because you can eat their fruit. Do not cut them down. Are the trees of the
field people, that you should besiege them? (Deuteronomy 20:19)

to accomplish, cease, consume, determine, end, fail, finish, be complete,
be accomplished, be ended, be at an end, be finished, be spent

(Qal)

to be complete, be at an end

to be completed, be finished

to be accomplished, be fulfilled

to be determined, be plotted (bad sense)

to be spent, be used up

to waste away, be exhausted, fail

to come to an end, vanish, perish, be destroyed

(Piel)

to complete, bring to an end, finish

to complete (a period of time)

to finish (doing a thing)

to make an end, end

to accomplish, fulfil, bring to pass

to accomplish, determine (in thought)

to put an end to, cause to cease

to cause to fail, exhaust, use up, spend

to destroy, exterminate

(Pual) to be finished, be ended, be completed

Part of Speech: verb
A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: a primitive root
Same Word by TWOT Number: 982, 983, 984

kâlâh refers to human death:

"Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I
may destroy [kâlâh] them; and I will make of you a great nation." (Exodus
32:10)

and the LORD sent you on a mission, and said, 'Go and utterly destroy the
sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are
exterminated [kâlâh].' (1 Samuel 15:18)

"I pursued my enemies and destroyed them, And I did not turn back until they
were consumed [kâlâh]. (2 Samuel 22:38)

shall we again break Your commandments and intermarry with the peoples who
commit these abominations? Would You not be angry with us to the point of
destruction [kâlâh], until there is no remnant nor any who escape? (Ezra 9:14)

"I will scatter them among the nations, whom neither they nor their fathers
have known; and I will send the sword after them until I have annihilated [kâlâh]
them." (Jeremiah 9:16)

You called as in the day of an appointed feast My terrors on every side; And
there was no one who escaped or survived In the day of the LORD'S anger.
Those whom I bore and reared, My enemy annihilated [kâlâh] them. (Lamentations 2:22)

"But the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness. They did not
walk in My statutes and they rejected My ordinances, by which, if a man
observes them, he will live; and My sabbaths they greatly profaned. Then I
resolved to pour out My wrath on them in the wilderness, to annihilate [kâlâh] them.
(Ezekiel 20:13)

The sword will whirl against their cities, And will demolish [kâlâh] their gate bars
And consume [kâlâh] them because of their counsels. (Hosea 11:6)